What's Left of It
by Forgetting my name
Summary: We realized how foolish our decisions were. We focused on one conclusion, and we fell for it without evidence. No one consoled him, we all damned him for it. Who knew it would start the reaction that made all of this mess?
1. Chapter 1

So, if you're reading this, thank you for deciding to read this story! I know it's not much, but I'd still like to know what you think of it. This technically isn't my first story I've written, but I haven't used this site in quite a while, and I'd like to get back into writing for pleasure. I'm going to apologize in advance it I put any terrible cliches in, but I had this idea in my head for a long time now. Onward with the story!

* * *

_"No! Grey!"_

Natsu screamed as he looked on, horrified at the sight before him. Grey Fullbuster fell to the ground, in flames. Natsu didn't know what to do as he saw Grey writhe on the ground, before violently laying still. Still in shock, Natsu stared at the ice mage, before finally snapping to action, desperate to get the heat of of his friend. Immediately setting to work, he tried to cool the mage down. He ran to his fallen friend, and tried to swallow the flames burning him. He choked on it. It tasted of flesh and rot. _"No! It doesn't matter! I need to get this off of him, no matter how disgusting it is!" _Trying again, he successfully guided the flames away from his friend, doing his best not to gag on the flames as their horrid taste ran over his tongue.

After sucking down the flames, Natsu gritted his teeth. Now came the hard part. _'I need to get that oil off of him. It's still burning him! This isn't good. This isn't fire, so my skin will be vulnerable to this... No! Now isn't the time to think of this! I need to get this off of him!' _Making his decision, he reached his hands over his friend, and scooped up as much of the burning oil that he was able to. He clenched his eyes shut. This was the first time he had actually felt his skin being_ burned, _and it hurt like hell. He scraped his hands on the grass, wiping the oil off, and getting ready to scrape more oil off. He did so, this time hurting worse than before. He screamed, and scraped the oil off again. He repeated this process over and over, all the time asking himself where the hell the others were. Five minutes passed, ten minutes. As if by miracle, a rain drop fell, then another, then a whole drizzle fell on the pair. Natsu stopped, and watched as the rain began to wash away the black liquid covering Grey.

Natsu felt relief, watching as the oil dissipated off of his unconscious friend. Then as Grey's skin became visible, reality was all too kind to give the dragon slayer a great smack to his face. Grey was completely covered in vicious skin damages. From head to toe, he was covered in scabbing, and on some points of his body, there wasn't even any flesh covering him.

Natsu stared at his friend in shock. _'No... I thought... This wasn't supposed to happen. I tried to save him, but... Oh god, this is all my fault...' _He clenched the ground, not blinking, unable to tear his eyes away from the horrific sight. He kept staring at Grey. He felt tears sting the corners of his eyes, but made no attempt to stop them from falling.

* * *

It didn't take long for Erza and the others to find the fire and ice mage, after hearing Juvia's story of Natsu and Grey. Erza personally didn't believe what she heard, but knowing that Natsu and Gray _still_ haven't arrived at the meeting point, it was probably best to search for them; after treading through the forest the two mages had ran into initially, she arrived at a clearing, and seeing a pink head, ran to join with Natsu, with Lucy and Juvia following behind her. She stopped short, looking at the sight before her; Natsu was keeling over a crisp of a person, which she had just barely recognized as Grey, judging from the little amount of clothes he still had on him.

Erza spoke with a stern voice. "Natsu..." No response. "Natsu. Say something." Still nothing. "Natsu... What happened?" He didn't even turn his head, gave no sign that he even heard her. She walked up to him, and punched him in the back of the head. "NATSU! ANSWER ME! DID YOU DO THIS?" She recalled Juvia's small story to the rest of the group.

* * *

_Erza slashed through the last water demon, watching it fall apart, and splash on the stone ground beneath her. She was glad the demons had caused this damage- it meant Fairy Tail couldn't be blamed for causing the wreck, since it was this way when they found it. Lucy had to force close Taurus' door - again- to make sure he didn't cause any more embarrassments over her body figure again. Suddenly, Juvia had just ran into her. Erza looked at her, a little surprised. "Juvia? What are you doing here? You didn't come with us on this mission. Didn't you say you were staying at the guild? And what's got you looking so terrified?" Juvia wasted no time in response, looking horrified at something, but of what was unknown. _

_"E-Erza! It was horrible! I-i-i was fo-following Grey after y-you left, and I saw him in th-the forest and... Oh god it was terrible!"_

_Erza spoke back, "What was it?"_

_"I s-saw Grey was on f-fire, and N-Natsu, just sat there and ate th-the flames!"_

_Erza was in disbelief. "That's ridiculous. Don't say stuff like that."_

_"B-but it's true!"_

_"It can't be."_

_"I'm not lying! If y-you don't believe me,th-then go look y-yourself!"_

_Erza sighed. "Fine, but if this is a lie, I don't want to hear, anymore of this ever again. Understood?"_

* * *

"It's my fault..." Came a small whisper. Erza leaned down beside Natsu. "What are you saying?"

"I lit him on fire... He's like that because of me. It wasn't supposed to do that..."

"What wasn't supposed to do what?" Erza didn't like this conversation. Natsu didn't do this, right?

"It was supposed to save him... not harm him... _He_ was right, I shouldn't have went out..." Came the muted voice.

Juvia's eyes widened. She took off in a sprint, and tackled Natsu to the ground. She screamed, "You lit Grey on fire _purposefully? _Why did you hurt my Grey-sama? You evil bastard!" She began punching Natsu like a training mannequin, pounding on him until his face had began to bleed. And still, he did not make a sound, and did not resist the attack, rather just lying there and taking the blows. Erza ran up and pulled Juvia off of the fire mage. "Enough!" This had just brought Juvia to more tears.

* * *

Natsu rarely talked anymore. He had stayed holed up into his house, only allowing Happy to visit him occasionally, that is, whenever Happy went to the house. He hadn't eaten anything within the time after Grey's hospitalization. That was what... a week ago? He had tried at least seeing Grey, but the glares received from everyone at the guild told him he wasn't allowed to.

Happy sometimes came to his house, but know even Happy felt the need to stay away. He would occasionally go to their house, and he would inform Natsu of the status of Grey... and had made sure that he told Natsu he still defended him whenever someone talked ill of the fire mage. Most of the time, he tried to get Natsu to at least say something, but nothing seemed to work anymore.

A knock resounded at the home's door, but Natsu made no effort to get up to open the door. The knock at the door was repeated, this time with the accompanying opening of the door. Natsu had just barely registered the sight of Erza in front of him, telling him that he was requested at the guild. He mindlessly got up, and made his way to the door, following the scarlet haired warrior.

* * *

The guild had been much quieter in the past few days, to say the least. In fact, everything seemed to change. Cana even had cut back on her ridiculous amount of drinking, falling in the same pit of depression everyone else had. They all felt confused at the thought of the past weeks' events: How is it even possible that Natsu would even do such a horrid thing to Grey?

What few people murmuring to each other had stopped with the opening of the door, and the arrival of Erza and Natsu. The latter had looked a lot worse for the wear, due to his lack of eating, and kept his head down, although he could still feel the glares burning into him from the rest of the guild. Upon command, Natsu looked up to see Makarov, and beside him, he could see a few other wizards, and from the way they were dressed, ha guessed they were probably from the council.

Makarov's face was devoid of any emotion. He looked at Natsu with blank eyes, and Natsu could just barely focus on that look. Makarov began to speak. "Natsu, according to other Fairy Tail guild members, you had severly endangered the life of Grey Fullbuster by setting him on fire, and devouring the flames that spawned from this action, correct?"

Natsu nodded.

Makarov stated, "You must surely know the appropriate response for this type of action."

Again, he nodded.

Makarov sighed. "Rule One: Never give information that gives a disadvantage to Fairy Tail to anyone." Natsu felt a pang. He knew this was already coming, so why did he feel so sad?

"Two: Never meet a previous customer for personal gain."

Was it because he was loosing all of his friends? No, he knew they already hated him probably... Then was it...

"Three: Even if our paths differ, you must live life, as long as you are still strong."

_'Is it because now, I can never make up for my mistakes?'_

"Natsu do you understand and swear on your life to carry out these rules rules to their fulfillment?"

He nodded, feeling himself begin to cry once again. Makarov responded, "Then I am sorry, you are effective immediately removed from the guild of Fairy Tail." After saying this, the council members walked up to Natsu. "Natsu Dragneel, you are hear-by arrested for the charges of knowingly harming a fellow guild mate, and the attempted homicide of said guild mate."

Natsu really couldn't explain what happened after that. He saw the anti-magic cuff about to be put on his wrists, and he turned and ran. Before anyone could chase him, he jumped in the air and began shooting fire from his sandals, firing off, moving faster than anyone else could. He was already past the horizon when the other council members began chasing him.

* * *

I'm sorry if this story seems crappy to you, but I haven't written in a while, and I still wanted to see if someone still liked my writing. Please let me know how you thought of it. I'd really appreciate it.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again, and thanks for reading! I have another chapter ready to roll out, and I hope you like it!

* * *

A quiet, peaceful scene was unfolding in a forest clearing, on the other side of Fiore. Deer were frolicing, birds were chirping, and sunshine played around with the various small creatures moving about, all without a care in the world. Looking up, a squirrel had noticed a quite big object falling towards the ground. Said object crashed into the clearing, sending the animals scattering, and leaving a small house-sized crater in the ground. Climbing up out of this crater, fairly scathed, was Natsu.

He looked worse for the wear, and the crash didn't seem to even phase him. Pulling himself up off the ground, he began walking through the forest hoping to find some clues if he was headed in the direction he was intending to. His sense of smell helped, but could only take him so far. He had been here before long ago, but being away from here too long left him felling like he was going through uncharted territory. Many hours passed before he reached any type of settlement, making small snacks of the fruit trees he passed along the way. he finally reached a small village, the first thing he did was go to the nearest person.

"Excuse me?" He said to what seemed like a blacksmith, "I'm wondering... I've been travelling for a while, and I think I got lost somewhere. What town is this?" The blacksmith looked at Natsu and replied. "Oh this town? Mediala."

"Mediala? Wow... This place hasn't changed much since I last visited."

"Yeah, this place has always been a quiet and small village. When was the last time you saw this place?"

"Er... Six years ago." Natsu replied. Was ot really that long? It seemed more like thirty years. He hardly remembered this place, but he stil knew it was here. Speaking of which, it means he had gotten even closer to his destination than he originally believed. Now it was only about an hour away from him, a relatively short walk through the forest. He was snapped out of these thoughts by the blacksmith, who was trying to get his attention. "Ten years? Wow. So where you headed to?" Natsu thought about what he was doing. Should he really do this? Or is it better for him to continue on his path? Deciding for himself, he set onto a path hidden by the other side of the forest, continuing his journey as planned.

"I'm going to visit my father!" He yelled back, truthfully.

* * *

Wendy did the best she could with Grey's injuries. There wasn't much she could do. Most of his skin was damaged beyond repair, and at least half his body would take weeks , if not months, to heal. _'Grandeeny, I wonder if you could do this without any trouble. I hate to say so, but I doubt it.'_ Porlyusica walked into the small room, stepping over to a tired Sky Dragon Slayer. "Wendy, you've done enough. You probably need to tell his friends about his status.

"Porlyusica, do you think you are ab-"

"No." The healer interjected, "And get out. I hate humans."

It only took a shohrt walk fown a hall and a flight of stairs, and she arrived at the main room of Fairy Tail. The room grew silent as she entered. Next thing she knew, she was surrounded by Erza, Lucy, and Happy, each of them asking of Grey's status. "He's going to make it." She said, quieting the group, "But he won't wake for a while. I'd say sometime between five to seven weeks." Everyone one looked grim at this statement. "But... There is something I will need to inform you of. His magic will be severely depleted when he wakes... And..." Wendy paused. "... He'll be bedridden for the rest of his life." Everyone looked in shock. "His legs are too damaged to even think of walking again, he'll never be able to complete a decent job in his entire life. I wish I could do more, but... it was a miracle to get his skin growing back, and if O did anymore, his body might become dependant on my healing."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked. Wendy replied, "If I keep healing him, his body will stop registering the need to heal itself. Even a scrape won't be able to heal itself because the body will get used to somethi.g else doing the work for it. He needs time, thats all we can give him now.

* * *

Natsu stood beside a medium sized river running through the thick forest. He remembered this place. _'Well, I am going back to Father's place. I might as well look presentable.'_He stripped to his underwear, and walked into the river, letting it go up to his chest. He shivered. Now he definitely knew this place. "Just as cold as ever..." He commented to himself. Pulling the clothes into the river, he began washing them off in the water, letting the dirt from all of his traveling float off, away from him. Dunking his head under the river, he let himself float on his stomach. He wondered to himself. Was it really right to do this? He knew father would accept him into his home, he promised that, but what of father's comments about him?

When he was a child, he always strove for father to complement him in any way. It didn't matter why, but it was always his goal to at least get three good remarks every two weeks. It may sound easy, but Father was hardly ever proud of his son. In fact, until he left the house for Fairy Tail, he never realized how nuch he was treated as a pet more than a son.

But still, Father took good care of him, he didn't see why now would be any different. Sighing, he got out of the water, and breathed fire onto his clothing, to dry them, putting them on, he straightened his hair out to its normal appearance, and made his way towards his old home.

"Home" being used very lightly; the place looked like a fort more than anything. He still remembered this place, although he never had that many notable memories, this had occupied the majority of his childhood, after Igneel left. Although he considered Igneel his true father, this one he called by that title from habit. These two were polar opposites. As he passed the front gate, he could feel the heat leave him. That was always the nature of this place; cold and unforgiving. But for some strange reason, he felt he could always like this place, no matter its atmosphere. Hell, when he was younger, he did everything humanly possible to show that he was ready to fight tooth and nail for the protection of this property. He stopped in the courtyard, closed his eyes and looked up, remembering how he used to be.

_'Heh! Now I remember how I used to be around this place. I used to act like a mini-Erza with this place, always making sure it was well guarded. Of course, with all of Father's "questionable" buisness tansactions, someone needed to definitely ramp up security. There was even one day where we had five unrelated attacks!'_ He was drawn short of his remembrance by a bump of what felt like a gun in the middle of his back.

"State your name and purpose here. If you don't have a purpose, then I advise you turn around and leave." Natsu chuckled at this voice. "Gorin, is that you?" The gun was removed from Natsu's back. "How do you know my name?" Natsu ignored his question. "So does that mean Lillim and Maziko still live here, as well?"

Gorin was starting to worry. "Alright, you have to be a spy. State who you came from and I might just let you live."

"So then that means that Lillim and Maziko are patrolling outside if you're walking on the grounds..." Natsu sighed. "Then tell me..." He paused, and spun around, facing Gorin. He casted a glare that would have easily made any person die on the spot. "How could I have made myself so obvious to find, and yet I passed _absolutely no one_ on my way here?"

Now that Natsu had a clear view of Gorin, he could see how much he changed within the past nine years. He had grown much taller and more defined. His long black hair had been traded for a short shaved look now, and his thick leather armor easily passed the title "badass" clearly. But for now, this very large man was shacking in his boots. "N-n-Natsu? Is th-that... You?" Before he could even respond, Natsu found himself in a bear hug. "Natsu-san! I can't believe you're back! Just wait till I tell the others when their shift ends!" Natsu wasn't sure how to reply. He thought Gorin's reaction would be completely different. Why... "Well, sure, you made my life hell when we were both here, but I mean... Man! I didn't think you'd come back! I was starting to worry that we wouldn't see the "World's Scariest Twelve Year Old" ever again?" Natsu looked at him questionably, "Starting to worry?"

Yeah! Lillim always had premonitions of you returning, and they just recently stopped... Wait... Of course! You coming back made them stop! Duh!" Natsu gave a small smile. He forgot about Lillim and her psychic powers. And as much as he wanted to stay here and talk to Gorin, he knew he had a more pressing matter to attend to. That, and he didn't want stay reminded that he managed to slip by so easily. If he hadn't stopped in the courtyard, Gorin might not have caught him at all. "Gorin, I need to see Father. Is he in the main room, as usual?"

Gorin stiffened slightly, well noted by Natsu. "Yes, he is." Natsu gave him a thank you, and asked, "You still hate him, don't you?" Gorin responded, "Well... No. I mean, yes, I'm really grateful for alk the things he gave us. Food, shelter, education, everything that a royal person could get easily, he gave to us. And I can't thank him enough. Hell, if he died by someone's hand, I'd go to the ends of the earth to avenge him. But, he's just so cold, you know. Just... Think of you, Natsu. He would always manipulate you, whispering words into your ear of a bleak world with no good in it. And you believed every word!"

"And?" Natsu didn't like where this conversation was going. Natsu knew fully well he was being controlled by Father. But so what? Natsu was found and raised by him. He had full right to do whatever he wanted to Natsu. Gorin continued, "Well, I'm not going to say that I hate him. But he's too cold for my liking." Natsu looked back at Gorin, "I can't say I don't blame you, but at least this means I don't have to worry about those insane murder plots you used to plan for him." Gorin gave a laugh at that statement, "You know, I never really got how he always managed to avoid them." Natsu told him, "I told him beforehand."

Natsu swore Gorin's eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. "WHAT? That was you?" It was Natsu's turn to laugh. "Who else?"

* * *

"Seven weeks..." Lucy echoed. That was how bad it was? "Natsu... You'd better stay gone... If I see you again, there will be hell to pay..." Juvia chimed in, "Juvia concurs! We should hurry and find him so we can pay him back for Grey-sama's condition! This was greeted with nods from the other members. Having a guild mate injured was one thing, but an actual traitor... That was an entirely different matter. Gajeel left. He didn't like this. When he got up, the room was getting loruder and louder, and even louder with threats for Natsu's head. Gajeel wondered to himself. _'What happened to this guild? Wasn't his supposed to be the happy-go-lucky group?'_ Gajeel would have kept walking, if someone hadn't spoke up.

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" The normally cheery voice quieted the entire crowd. Gajeel turned around to see Happy, floating in the middle of the room, above everybody. "What the hell is wrong with you people? I though we were always the guild that stood for fair justice! Is this Fairy Tail, because it sure looks like I walked into a cheerier looking Phantom Lord!" But the exceed didn't stop there. "When I left Natsu and Grey, it was because Natsu had saved two children and needed me to find their parents! What kind of person would do that, only to betray his friends?" A random voice came from the crowd, "And what about him not trying to visit Grey, or that he said it was his fault?" Happy didn't take too long with replying to that question. "You know Natsu, of course he would blame himself if he was right there when Grey was hurt! How could he _not_ blame himself? And with all of the death glares you threw at him whenever he got near the guild, I don't blame him for thinking that you wouldn't even let Natsu NEAR him!"

After a moment of silence, Levi appeared out of a corner. "...Guys?..." Everyone looked at her. She gulped. She absolutely hated being the center of attention. "Er... Grey has something... to say..." A lot of people looked confused at this statement. Gajeel asked, "What are you talking about?" Levi hesitantly responded. Well, because you are all arguing I kinda... Took matters into my own hands... I used a modified projection lacrima, and..." She looked over her shoulder. "Grey! You can come out now!"

Everyone was looking in shock. Before them was... A perfectly fine Grey? "Well... This is an akward moment." Grey said with uncertanty. No one moved. "Oh, relax, I'm just a projection of myself. I'm still in a coma. Wow, I looked bad." He looked around. Where's Natsu? Is he off on a mission? I would have expected him to make some sort of cheesy comment by now."

* * *

"You what?" Grey said, surprised. "Why the hell would you guys do that? And where the hell is Makarov? I've got a faw words to say to him." Erza stood up, ready to reply. "Natsu betrayed his guild, and Makarov has been in a three week long meeting. He won't be back until next Friday after this week." Grey's eyes widened. "Betrayed his guild? How?" Elfmann yelled, "He sacrificed his manlyness and chose to burn you to a crisp, that's why!" Grey thought for a second "... But that's not what happened..."

* * *

If Natsu thought he couldn't have felt any colder, he was wrong the moment he stepped into the building's large Main Room. Stone walls, the wooden furniture, all with a thin line of carpet leading to a large chair at the end of the room. In this chair was a tall figure; thin, white, and very well dressed, just like any wealthy buisness man should be dressed like. He was reading a book. Natsu walked before the man, and kneeled before him. This man, Vekel Ajax, was the man Natsu called Father. "You've returned." He noted. "I wasn't sure if you were going to. Rise. You look pathetic kneeling to me." Natsu stood fully up, making sure to keep his back straight, and his chin high. He still wanted to make a good impresson. "Father..." He began, but was cut off by Vekel. "Let me guess, I was right. You let someone get seriously hurt." Natsu nodded, hanging his head in shame. "I told you that you'd hurt someone, you should have came back sooner. Don't worry, I'll let you live here again, on two conditions." Natsu nodded. "What are they?"

"One: You continue your guarding duties as you used to do in this house," Natsu could live with that. "...and Two: You must tell me right now what happened that made you decide to return."

That one, maybe not so much. But at this moment, he didn't really have much of a choice. "Fine. Here goes..."

* * *

_It was a simple mission, right? Find the water mage, capture the water mage, bring her back, the end, right? Not so much. By the time the full squad arrived at the small village she was supposed to have been sighted at, a horde of water-molded monsters had already overrun the city; the mage ran into the forest. While Erza and Lucy were to defend what was left of the city, Natsu, Grey and Happy were to chase after the corrupt mage. It wasn't long before the three came across the clearing. Aechtuwo (strange name, yes) was in the middle, waiting for them. She said nothing, instead began shooting jets of scalding water toward the two. Grey simplay chose his stance and yelled, "Ice make: shield!" However, it wasn't two seconds before it was melted, scalding the two, until Natsu's fire breath evaporated the jets. As if on cue, two small children hiding behind some trees, watching, tripped on each other, and fell to the ground, in plain sight._

_With a new targett in mind, the water mage rose her hands, and attempted to shoot the burning streams at the kids. Grey leapt into action, tackling her to the ground, yelling at Natsu. "Go!" He didn't meed to be told twice. Scooping up the five year olds, he ran into the forest, Happy close behind. He suddenly stopped. "Happy, Grey's not gonna make by himself. Can you carry these kids to their parents?" "Aye!"_

_Running back to the clearing alone, Natsu stubled across a scene he'd rather not want to see again. Grey was standing, but locked into place by what seemed like a pressurized water cast. The corrupt mage was above him, abd for once, she spoke. "Water art: Typhoon!" Natsu watched as the steaming water raced to it's target. "No!" He yelled, "Fire Dragon Roar!" He spat out his attack, but what happened next, nobody could prepare for. "Water arts: Transform: Kerosene and Tar." Natsu's eyes widened. He did his best to stop the flame, but by then it was too late. 'Dammit! I can't eat my own flames!' It didn't take lonf for the fire to reach the deadly mixture. It lit, and continued it's course, full speed ahead, zeroing on Grey._

* * *

So? Was it good? Please leave a review ti tell me, it's greatly appreciated. I want people's opinion on if this is good or not. Thanks for Reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Heya! How are you guys doing? Sorry for not doing this sooner. I've FINALLY managed to get time to do this, and I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Grey finished his story, with his hands hanging at his sides. "It's not Natsu's fault, really. I was stupid enough to stay caught in her trap. But that shouldn't be a problem now." Everyone's face, minus a few, darkened drastically. Lucy was the first to speak, in an uncharacteristically dark voice. "It doesn't matter about your mistakes..." Her began to get louder. "He made the fire that burned you and he should pay for that!" Cheers erupted from the crowd, as Happy, Gajeel, Levy, and Grey observed these actions with horrified looks. Gajeel began to doubt this new guild he thought bore the name of Fairy Tail. _'What the hell? Something is wrong here... At first I thought they were just angry, but this... This is more like raw bloodlust._ Gajeel looked around, noting that he apparently wasn't the only person to believe the same. Happy had already fleww up to the second floor, tears streaming from his face. Looking at the crowd still chanting for Natsu's head, he turned around and left, but not before promising himself he'd find out what happened to everyone.

Meanwhile, Happy had been sobbing to himself in a room down the hall He never felt so torn. If he hated these people so much, why did he stay here? Noticing his absence, Mirajane tracked him down, with a warm bowl of salmon soup. Once she found him, she handed the bowl to him, making a quick comment consisting of a "This must be hard for you" sympathy. Once she left, he began picking the bowl up and drinking it's contents. He had finished a quarter of the bowl, when he put it down. He began to think to himself. _'Why is everyone like this? I don't know what to think about this... I just feel like I want to ...' _Happy sat there, trying to piece together everything. _'Everyone is out for Natsu's head... this is scaring me.. But Natsu did burn Grey to a crisp.'_

The look on Happy's face began to darken. _'That's right! How could I forget? Natsu burned Grey alive. Natsu was the one who did that. This HAS to be Natsu's fault! There's no oth-' _He slapped himself, bringing him back to his senses. "No!" He yelled out loud. "Why am I thinking things like that! Of course it's not his fault!" Happy curled up into a ball, bringing his knees close to his face, which was full of shame. _'How could I even think such things? Natsu... This... You bastard! Why are you making me so sad? I hate-' _Happy violently shook his head, getting those thoughts out. "Something's wrong..." He knew it. Something was off. He needed to find out what. This didn't make any sense. When did he start feeling so antagonistic to Natsu? Wasn't he supposed to be his friend?

Happy's mind raced for answers. Yes. Of course! There's no other reason! Fairy Tail would NEVER act like this on it's own! Makarov would have never disowned Natsu without that influence! Happy paced the floor, thinking his way through everything. The burning, the disownment, the savage group downstairs still yelling for Natsu's head (He'd rather ignore that fact for now), and then... His eyes focused on the soup bowl. He came up close to it, and smelled it. Nothing out of the ordinary. _'Better safe then sorry...' _He picked up the bowl, and flew out the window with it in tow. He needed to see someone to get his answers.

* * *

The banquet the other three had prepared for Natsu's return was extravagant, to say the least. Rows of food lined the table, and it seemed that looking at the group's eating habits, it soon became obvious where Natsu learned his manners from. All of them practically inhaled whatever food they find, and even Lillim, who presented herself like the most sophisticated of ladies quickly dissolved that appearance the moment she sat down at the table. But judging from the looks of the other three, you'd probably expect that from them. Maziko looked like a lizard (he had a charm so that his body would augment to give that appearance), with scales lining his body, and a small, bony tail jutting out from the bottom of his shirt.

Natsu paused from his ravenous feasting, prompting the others to do so. They had a lot to ask him, what the outside world was like, what places did he see, the latest technology, strange phenomenons, all of which he answered to his best. He didn't hide back anything either. "So, Natsu, Did you find Igneel yet?" Lillim asked. She always had a sort of soft voice, even if she was angry. "No..." He answered. "I did my best, but it seems he just doesn't want to be found. But I did find others like me. There was one guy, Gajeel Redfox, he was an Iron Dragon Slayer-"

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall and very muscular. Black hair, red eyes, but he had so many piercings along his face, he kinda looked like one big pin-cushion."

"So did he eat Iron?" Maziko asked.

"Yeah, he ate a lot of it, too. I don't even think I had even SEEN him eat actual food before."

_'Igneel...'_ Natsu thought. He always thought back to that time in the forest. He'd been searching for Igneel an entire week, roaming the forest he was raised in. That's when he met Ajax, his new Father. He snapped back to attention, looking back to the group of other older teens, wanting to ask more questions.

He believed that about an hour passed answering their questions, none of them letting up. HE told the stories of Fairy Tail, from the attack by Phantom Lord, Jellal's Return and Enslavement, and Even the contest between the mage guilds all across Fiore. He didn't hold any details out. Maziko began to chuckle, and told Natsu jokingly, "It really does sound like you walked straight from a Fairy Tale Book." Chuckling once again when he realized he made a pun inadvertently. Although Natsu didn't look it on the outside, he was drowning in his own fear. While he didn't fake the joy of being back with his old brothers and sister, he was dreading the moment when they would ask him why he came back. No sooner than he had thought of this, Lillim had asked that question.

_'What do I say? Will they shun me? Will they hate me like the others did? What will they do?' _His mind raced with questions, and the rest of the group noticed Natsu's hesitation, the room falling into an awkward silence. "Well..-"

"He got reckless with his powers, and nearly killed his own friend." Ajax walked into the room. "Isn't that right, Natsu? Why else would I tell you to only use magic as a last resort for guarding this place when you were a kid? To prevent stupid mistakes like that, that's why." Keeping his stone face on, he sat himself at an unoccupied seat on the rather large table. If the room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop before, then after Ajax sat down, the merest thought of dust settling to the ground seemed sufficient enough to cause thundering echos. "I've told you time and time again not to ever do something like that. Fire is malleable in your hands, yes, but you never used your powers with any strategy, and that led to your downfall. Do you hear that, kids? He isn't here to be reunited with old family; He's here because he's trying to hide from everyone else."

Gorin stood up. "Ajax, that's enough. He's been in enough pain already. Just let him be."

"But why would I ever do that? And why are you defending him? He abandoned you, and forgot you somewhere along the way. Natsu stopped caring for you long ago."

"Shut up! Even if he wasn't here for us, it doesn't matter!"

Ajax raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really? Do tell me."

"Just because he's doing this for-"

Natsu had gotten sick of this stood straight up from his seat. "ENOUGH!" He held his head down, using his hair to hide his face. He faced Ajax, and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for inconveniencing you. I'll resume my guard duties as soon as you say so." Gorin cast a glare in Natsu's direction. He had just stood up for Natsu, and for what? This? Talk about ungrateful.

Ajax had ignored this. "Just turn into your room for now, it's left exactly how it was when you left." Natsu bowed, and hurriedly ran to his old room. Down the stone corridors, and finally running across the door he was looking for. Opening the door, he loooked at his door, overwhelmed by the memories that came flooding back. He began to walk around the room. Not much was in it, he never had any personal possessions. All there really was, was a large fireplace, a dresser, and a large bed. Not much else was there. But this placed looked like he hadn't left it for more than five minutes, everything was in pristine condition.

His legs felt like they were going to give out from under him. He felt like he was going to throw up. Everything in his body was in pain right now, but what hurt most of all was the fact that Ajax was _right_. The only reason he came back was to hide from the authorities. There was no other reason. How could he do that to his family? They're probably crushed, knowing that he never once did this for them. It was all for himself.

He couldn't take it anymore. Tears welling at his eyes, he fell onto the bed's pillow and started to cry. Even as the tears started to stream from his face, he focused his thoughts on stopping._'You idiot! What are you crying for? You're the one that hurt them!'_ Yet, it never worked. He sobbed into the pillow, not stopping until he fell asleep.

* * *

Happy finally reached his destination in the forest, the hollowed out tree that served as Porlyusica's home. Landing with the bowl in tow, he made sure not to spill any of its contents. Placing the bowl on the ground, he ran to the door. Knocking on the bottom of the door as furiously (his wings had just given out on him), he was greeted with a "Stop it! Go away, you know how much I hate humans!" Happy responded, "I'm not a human!" The door opened, to reveal the elderly healer inside. "What?" She asked him. He pointed to the bowl. "I think there's something wrong with it."

She gave an incredulous look. "Well, it is cold." He looked desperate. "NO! I mean there's something WRONG with it! I don't know what, though!" She noticed Happy's state of being. He looked much for the worst, probably because he used all of his energy flying his way here. His legs were trembling, and he had large bags under his eyes. "Cat, did you just not get enough sleep last night? It's just a bowl of soup." Happy bit his upper lip in frustration. "No! Just look at it, or something! I think there's something seriously wrong with the food at Fairy Tail!"

She sighed and closed her eyes. Walking over, she picked up the bowl. "Fine. For your sake. But go home."

Happy yelled. "No! I will not go home until you finish examining it."

"...Fine. Suit yourself."

* * *

It was bright and sunny the next day.

Natsu hated that.

_'Why does today of all days have to feel like this?' _He was assigned to guard duty. Even though it wasn't as often as a couple years ago, people seemed to always have a death threat for Ajax. He was a very successful businessman, but Natsu felt like he screwed his clients and investors over just a little too often. But then again, Ajax then wouldn't have had a reason to adopt him, and Natsu might have still been stuck in the forest, even today.

He still remembered the rules of guard duty by heart.

_'1. Never attack to kill. Always give the option of turning around for the intruder.  
2. If intruder refuses to retreat, subdue for capture.  
3. If subdued, feel free to interrogate. Using physical attacks are permitted during this event, but don't go overboard.  
4. Only if the intruder uses deadly force on your or another guard with intent to kill, is attacking to kill permitted.  
5. If intruder requests an audience with Ajax, you are to disarm him of any potential weapons, and escort him to the Lobby.  
6. Never use magic unless it is a last resort. All magic is disabled in this area unless a such condition is met.'_

He never really forgot those rules,and Ajax was a master rune-writer (perhaps that's why he was a master businessman, he was always able to write the rules), and because of that, Ajax made sure that these rules were set in stone. He walked out into the forest. After walking out for about a mile, he jumped into one of the trees. I served as a double-advantage to do so. Not only could he see the enemy better (and him being hidden better), but he also could travel faster than on the ground. He hopped around the branches, and began his path in a circular motion around the fort.

* * *

Gorin grumbled to himself, still mad over the events of last night. He still had to guard the courtyard today, but this time, he had Lillim to keep him company, now that Natsu was back, they were allowed to have an extra person back at the home. Lillim had noticed his anger, and jumped down from the roof, white hair flowing, and landing on the ground in front of Gorin with a ballerina's pose. She looked at him with her deep purple eyes and asked him, "Are you angry at Natsu?"

He sighed. "Yes... I mean, I defended him and all, and he just ignored it all." Lillim looked down, and replied in her soft voice, "You can't really blame him..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's been through quite a lot, and you and Ajax pretty much threw him in the spotlight with your argument, and couldn't stand that. Despite how you went on to say that it didn't matter why he came here-"

"Which is true." Gorin added. "As log as he's here, I'm fine."

"...But you made him feel shameful when you said that. He's always been one to put other's feelings before his, and after Ajax had oh-so-wonderfully pointed that out to Natsu, he was ashamed that he did this for his own personal gain. He was considering our feelings the whole time, and he couldn't stand that."

Gorin looked down at the ground. "...I never thought of that..."

"... I heard him crying last night." Lillim said quietly. She couldn't stand that, but going in his to console him might have caused more damage than good. It's almost never a good thing to console someone else for a problem that only involved that one person. "Really, the only good thing we can do now is to just treat him like normally. He's a brother to all of us, and that's exactly the way we should treat him." Lillim always knew how to help solve these problems, and Gorin agreed.

Even though they were all adopted, they all had something to be grateful for Natsu. After all, Ajax had adopted the other three as children after Natsu was found. They were all taken to this house for their magical abilities, and their physical abilities, and even if they had to guard this place, it was still _worlds _better than the orphanage they were found in. It really wasn't Natsu's direct actions, but he was the first domino in this chain of events, and even though it rarely ever said, all four teens living in this estate had been grateful for Ajax's offering of shelter and food, (even though they had to constantly guard it from the many political powers that wanted his head) despite his extreme cold-heartedness.

* * *

Porlyusica lit a fire underneath the soup. Holding a piece of cloth against her mouth and nose (for safety reasons, of course), she added chemicals to the fire itself, as the flame grew hotter. The soup began to boil furiously, and she opened the window to let the evaporated water out. Eventually, all of the water had came out of the soup, leaving some bits of salmon and some of the fish oils left behind. Being careful not to burn herself from the flame still burning, she lifted the bowl, and scraped the contents into a glass container, making sure to scrape it with a spoon, not getting any on her skin.

She poured water into the container. She took out a small vial of clear liquid as she watched all the ingredients float to the top of the water. She poured some of the vial's contents into the container, and watched in shock as she saw particles fall to the bottom, looking very shiny, but still too small to say what they were. "Well, you'd never guess that cat was right..." Using the spoon once again to scoop the fish ingredients from the top of the container, she picked the container up once again, and placed it over the fire. As the fire boiled the water, the particles grouped together as they formed a small crystal, once the fire had evaporated the water once again.

"Cat!" She yelled, "Get in here immediately!" Happy rushed into the door, and ran to the healer. He was very anxious to see what she had to say. She showed him the crystal. "You were right. They had put a lacrima in the food-" She was cut off by her own scream as the lacrima she was holding in her hand burst into flames and exploded. She dropped the crystal. She looked at Happy, who was curled into a ball, and was leaking smoke from every hole on his face. He released a cry of agony, and passed out, as smoke was still being released from his body.

* * *

Well, there you have it! And before you all try to maul me for putting such a horrible to the end of the chapter, I would like to say that I should be quicker in releasing the next chapter, now that I have most of my school work out of the way (I'm in IB). Thank you for reading, and please leave a comment telling me what you thought! Also, I'm planning on writing a fic for Skyrim, tell me if you'd like to see that!


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